In the prior art, a number of input devices exist that allow a user to provide input to a computer or other device. Typically, these input devices (i.e., a mouse, a touch sensitive screen) are physically connected to the device to which input is provided. These devices do not allow a user to simply write the input as he or she would with a writing instrument such as a pen or a pencil. For some activities, such as sending a facsimile (faxing) or making an entry in an appointment book, it would be simpler for a user to write out a message or entry as he or she would with an ordinary pen or pencil that is not physically connected to a computer rather than use prior art input devices to create a message for faxing or to enter an appointment.
In order to provide a writing instrument as an input device, a system for tracking the position of the writing instrument and transforming characters made with the writing instrument to input characters must be provided. The better the tracking system, the more accurately the user input is received. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a tracking system that tracks the position of the writing instrument and transforms the movements of the writing instrument into graphical images that may be used as input to a computer or other device.